TCS International
 | This article may require copy editing for grammar, style, cohesion, tone, or spelling. (October 2025) |
| Country | Singapore |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | Selected countries in the Asia-Pacific region |
| Headquarters | Caldecott Hill |
| Programming | |
| Language | Mandarin |
| Picture format | 576i (4:3 SDTV) |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Television Corporation of Singapore |
| History | |
| Launched | 1 October 1995 |
| Closed | 2000 |
TCS International, also known under the Chinese name of Xin Shi (新视, derived from the shortform version of TCS's Chinese name 新加坡电视机构) was a satellite television network owned by the Television Corporation of Singapore. Based in Taiwan, it aimed at the larger Chinese-speaking world, delivering its programming exclusively in Chinese.
History
[edit]TCS announced in June 1995 the launch of an all-Chinese satellite television network scheduled for October, the first of its kind based within Singapore, to have an audience in Hong Kong, China, Korea, Australia and other countries. No concrete programme details were announced, but the mix of programmes was set to include old and new TCS drama serials, TCS telemovies, variety shows, documentaries and current affairs programmes, including news. In an initial phase, the channel would operate an 18-hour schedule, before increasing to a full-day 24-hour schedule within a year from launch.[1] Speaking to The Straits Times, Robert Chua, owner of the "no sex, no violence and no news" channel China Entertainment Television, said weeks ahead of TCSI's launch that TCS's output lacked the cross-border appeal his channel had. At the time, the channel was announced to carry its signal on the PanAmSat-2 satellite, while CETV used Apstar-2.[2]
On October 1, 1995, the channel started broadcasting, becoming the second Singaporean satellite television channel, following Singapore International Television on 1 January 1994, a government-funded satellite television channel that carried programmes provided by TCS. TCSI was the beginning of an ambitious internationalisation plan at the corporation, which planned to launch an English-language counterpart in late 1996 - by then, it was projected that Channel 5 was expected to have a significant volume of Singaporean programmes to sustain an English-language satellite channel. Appointments with a distributor in Taiwan were reaching their final stages, to provide the channel to 150 cable operators there. There were also plans to open an office in Taipei once penetration grew. It also planned its arrival to mainland China, pending SARFT approval. At the time, the cable market in China had reached 30 million households, ten times the number of Taiwan alone. TCSI also planned exclusive programmes, similar to the ones TVBS had.[3]
Despite claiming an audience of two million households in 1996, the channel closed in 2000 without prior warning. Mediacorp instead opted to use Channel NewsAsia as its key international service.[4]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Yuks! All Asia may see my body!". The New Paper (retrieved from NLB). 23 June 1995. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ "TCS will lose abroad: Robert Chua". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 14 September 1995. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ "TCS goes regional with launch of Chinese satellite TV channel". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 30 September 1995. Retrieved 16 October 2025.
- ^ Thomas, Amos Owen (2005). Imagi-Nations and Borderless Television: Media, Culture and Politics Across Asia. SAGE Publications. ISBN 978-0-7619-3395-3. Retrieved 9 February 2024.